Rise of Destiny
by SomethingAsian
Summary: With Morgana and her army of sorcerers attacking Camelot, Merlin can't keep his magic secret for much longer. Two-shot; no slash; reveal fic; spoilers for season 4


Summary: With Morgana and her army of sorcerers attacking Camelot, Merlin can't keep his magic secret for much longer.

- Rise of Destiny -

_She walked down the main road that would take her directly to the castle. The battle surrounded her, and she could see Camelot's knights' fall to her sorcerers which caused her to smirk in pleasure. Every so often a knight would spot the evil which clad in her darkest robes, but with a flash of gold eyes, they were easily disposed of._

_Screams of terror could be heard throughout the kingdom as it burned._

"Where the hell is Merlin?" Arthur said aloud. He stood at the base of his throne, his back facing the Knights of the Round Table. The king's tone was sharp and annoyed when he had spoken, but he didn't want even his most trusted knights to see the worried expression on his face.

Guinevere, his wife and Queen of Camelot, was with Gaius the Court Physician to help the wounded knights and citizens who were caught in the crossfire of the raging war. With five of his most bravest and loyal knights in the throne room with him, he knew where everyone was except for his manservant.

"He's supposed to be here by now."

"I'm sure he's alright, Sire," Sir Lancelot said from his seat at the Table. Unlike everyone else in the room, Lancelot knew that Merlin could take care of himself. The goofy servant of the king didn't need a sword to keep him safe from harm.

With a sigh, King Arthur picked up Excalibur and his shield before turning to face the knights. "We can't wait for him any longer." He made his way to the gigantic door of the throne room, his fellow knights in tow.

Once out of the castle, the king could see that the battle was far worse than he thought. His knights, Arthur knew, were giving it all they got, but the sorcerers were powerful, and his men were going down.

He pulled out his sword, and he heard the five knights behind him doing the same as they followed the lead of their king before Arthur swung, going after the first enemy he could spot.

* * *

"You called, Young Warlock?"

Merlin looked up into the scaly face of Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon. The warlock still didn't like the dragon; he didn't trust him much either since he attacked Camelot, but in times like these, the dragon was the only one Merlin could turn to. And since he was a Dragonlord, the Great Dragon couldn't defy him.

"Morgana has an army of sorcerers and they're attacking Camelot," he explained the situation, short and simple. "I need your advice."

"You must stop her," the dragon spoke.

"Well I know that," Merlin couldn't help but get snarky. "I need to know how to defeat her."

Kilgharrah looked down at him, flapping his wings, ready for flight. "You know how to defeat her, Merlin, and you have the power to do so."

Merlin could feel it; he could feel the magic that pulsed through his blood, the magic that had always been a part of him. The warlock stared into the Great Dragon's golden eyes—the same gold as his own when he used his gift—and he could just feel that it was time.

But he wasn't ready yet.

"Wait!" Merlin shouted as the dragon flew into the air, back to wherever it hid as it while it waited for his master's call.

He could've stopped him, talked to him as kin and made him return, but Merlin knew it was useless; the Great Dragon could no longer help him in his task.

He made his way back into the woods, back to Arthur and back to Camelot, if there was still a Camelot to return to.

* * *

"Here, this should help with the pain," Gaius gave the knight a tonic. He watched as he swallowed it all in one go before turning to examine another knight.

Gwen dressed a different knight's wound. She could feel the man's clammy skin and see the sweat on his brow. She turned to the physician. "I think his wound is infected," she informed him.

Gaius made his way over and took a look at the wound on the knight's arm. "Hmm," he mused, also feeling his forehead. Gaius reached over for the bucked siting at the table, but upon realizing that it was empty, he said aloud, "We need fresh water."

"I'll get it," Gwen volunteered, plucking the bucket out of the physician's hands.

"No," the older man said quickly. "You're staying here. I told Arthur I wouldn't let you out of my sights. I'll get it myself."

"Gaius, you said you need fresh water and you're more help here than I'd ever be," the queen reasoned with him. "Plus I'm faster than you, so I'll fetch the water and be back soon." She left with a small, reassuring smile to go to the water pump outside the castle, where the war was currently taking place.

* * *

For his throne, for his people, and for his kingdom, Arthur Pendragon wasn't going down without a fight.

In the heat of battle, Arthur suddenly felt himself being pulled into the air before gravity brought him back down, his sword landing a few feet from where he landed.

"Well hello, Brother," he heard the familiar voice say above him.

From his spot on the ground, Arthur could see his half-sister standing above him, a menacing look in her green eyes.

The king looked around him; the Knights of Camelot were preoccupied, battling with other sorcerers. He saw his wife hastily make her way down the steps of the castle.

Once at the bottom of the stairs, Gwen looked around the main square and her eyes widened when she found him, her husband, on his back on the ground, Morgana standing above him. _No…_

He didn't want to look away from the beautiful eyes of Guinevere—he wanted her to be the last thing he'd ever see if he was going to die—but he did glance away, only to see Merlin make his way into the square, too far away to be of any assistance.

_Protect Gwen for me_, he thought before he heard Morgana speak.

"Even Emrys can't protect you now."

Emrys…he's heard Morgana use that name before. She had called this man a powerful sorcerer who was also his silent guardian, one who was always by his side, protecting him and never asking for recognition or anything in return.

"_V__obis __morientur__!_"

Merlin saw her raise a hand, shouting an incantation, and like the first time the warlock saved his king's life, he slowed down time, running as fast as he could to pull Arthur out of the way of the witch's spell as time caught up with him.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, puzzled as to how he could've gotten to him so quickly.

The manservant stood, pulling the king up with him and moved them both away from the witch. "You can't win, Morgana," he said darkly, protectively.

Morgana was confused; her eyes darted back and forth almost hysterically until they landed on Merlin knowingly. She smirked and let out a short breath of air in disbelief.

"It's you, isn't it?" she said. She rolled her green eyes. "Of course it's you."

His answer was a step forward, placing himself in front of Arthur.

"Merlin, what are you—"

"_I__gnem __sphaera__!_" Morgana shouted. A ball of fire produced from the palm of her raised hand shot at the pair.

"_L__umen __trabem__!_" Merlin shouted his own enchantment, a blue beam of light shooting out of his own hand. It met Morgana's fire halfway and both spells died out.

Morgana's eyes narrowed.

Arthur felt the food in stomach jump to his throat; he felt like he was going to barf.

Merlin, his clumsy manservant and friend, was a sorcerer.

But there was a difference, Arthur could tell, in the magical aura around Morgana and Merlin. When Morgana had used her magic, the air felt dangerous, like a bomb was about to explode and he was caught in the middle of it. But with Merlin, Arthur felt safe, like there was an invisible shield all around him, protecting him.

And when he looked into the sorceresses' eyes, he could see that they were a dark, ugly gold while the sorcerer's were bright and brilliant as it shined like the stars in the night sky.

Then Arthur understood; Merlin was indeed a sorcerer, but he wasn't just any sorcerer—he was his protector, his guardian.

Merlin was Emrys.

Gaius arrived at the scene just as he saw Merlin cast a spell at Morgana, and right in front of Arthur. His old and wise eyes had widened in shock, but upon hearing a gasp, he turned to his left to see Gwen, a hand covering her mouth as realization had dawned her also.

As Morgana casted another spell, Merlin pushed Arthur down to the ground and out of the way. The warlock landed with him, and he heard something explode behind them.

Arthur lifted his head up and saw Excalibur in front of him. He grabbed it by the handle and stood up just as Merlin did.

Merlin's sad blue eyes bore into Arthur's own blue eyes in question, but the king nodded. And even though it was just a simple nod, it had much meaning, and it caused Merlin to light up, smiling in happiness that Arthur accepted him—that he understood.

The two faced Morgana, Arthur holding out his sword and Merlin with his hand out and at the ready to cast a spell. One look at the two—the two side of the same coin—and anyone could tell that they were threateningly, that they could win this war and see through to it.

Morgana's army of sorcerers froze in their fighting, staring at Arthur and Merlin, seeing the red and gold thread that connected the two together—connected their destinies.

"Emrys and the Once and Future King," they murmured, realizing their mistake in siding with the witch and creating a war against Camelot, understanding that Merlin and Arthur were the two destined to unite the lands of Albion and bring magic back to the land.

The sorcerers stopped their attacks, instead bowing on their knees to their king and his warlock.

The knights were confused at the enemies' sudden change in demeanor, but they let the sorcerers be—they were seemingly no longer a threat.

Only Morgana was left attacking the kingdom. She, too, could see the thread of destiny in front of her, but she didn't stop her advances.

"No!" she shouted hysterically. "I'm the one who's supposed to rule—the one to set magic free!"

Merlin shouted a spell, placing an enchantment on Arthur's sword and causing it glow gold as he pierced Morgana with it.

And with a glass shattering scream, Morgana the Witch was no more.

It was quiet, dead quiet.

Merlin turned to Arthur, who had a smile on his face as he cuffed Merlin's shoulder reassuringly.

The citizens of Camelot looked on at the pair, and with the sun rising behind them, they knew that with this new day, everything would change, and it would change for the better.

* * *

- Author's Note -

I'm so excited for the new season that I've started to read Merlin fanfiction again. I mostly like to read reveal stories, but all the ones I read (although they're all really good) aren't really how I want or expect Merlin's magic to be revealed to Arthur. So this plot just popped in my head and I had to write it.

For the "thread" thing up there, I got the idea from another story. Can't remember the name of it, but I give credit to the author of that story.

PS: I don't know much about the Arthurian Legend and such. I tried to do some research—understand some things and get everything right for this story or future ones, but I ended up finding spoilers for what could happen in the series and I don't want that. So I just hope and pray that nothing seems stupid to those of you who do know this great and fantastic legend.

PSS: I know Lancelot died, but I wanted all the Knights of the Round Table to be there. I don't like that he died, and I expect he'll be back in the fifth season anyway. (I hope I'm not sounding stupid for the people reading this that actually know the legend…)

_[LOL, thank you to rmatri540 and Katerina Riley for helping me prevent Gaius from poisoning a knight by mistake. Remember this people: tonic and toxin are not the same thing xD]_


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